Bollywood Actors You Need to Follow for Fitness Inspiration!

Earlier, fitness was incidental to stardom. Today it’s intentional. Today the body beautiful is equated with sex-appeal and star power on screen and off it. Mention must be made of Sanjay Dutt, who was the vanguard of the ‘iron pumping’ brigade and inspired gyms and fitness freaks through the ’80s. He, somewhere, inspired Salman Khan, who then went on to become B-town’s best combination of muscle and mush. Today fitness is one of the prerequisites of becoming an actor. And given the massive reach of social media, fans can get a sneak peek into their favourite celebrity’s fitness regime and their fitness secrets. B-towners regularly keep their fans motivated by turning fitness gurus and posting their workouts on their handles. Here is a list of Bollywood celebrities, you need to follow for your dose of fitness inspiration:

Salman Khan

You have already seen him shirtless numerous times in his movies. Salman Khan is an actor, who has inspired a lot of people to take working out seriously – from Arjun Kapoor to Sooraj Pancholi to newcomer Aayush Sharma. Given his various commitments, he has a busy schedule. But no matter what, he makes sure his workout is never compromised. Bhai is known to exercise even as late as 2 am, such is his diligence.

Salman spoke an interview with a leading daily in which he said that the food you eat is as important as your work out. So, he not just concentrates on his workout routine but also avoids sugar and processed foods in his diet. Salman Khan’s fitness trainer also revealed few unbelievable facts about Salman Khan to a leading daily saying, “Salman is a hard-working guy, who does some unbelievable stuff that many would not even dare to try. He does 2000 sit-ups, 1000 push-ups/ 500 abdominal crunches daily. He trains for a minimum of three hours each day. While in the gym, he concentrates on exercising his abs, biceps, and triceps. He loves cycling and jogging and may cycle for 10 kms a day,” he said. Wow!

Ranveer Singh:

The actor, who seamlessly transforms himself into a beast for Padmaavat to a lanky guy in Gully Boys, often uploads several fitness videos and pictures of his transformation. He recently uploaded a ‘before and after’ in which he compared his body while shooting for Padmaavat to when he started shooting for Gully Boy. He’s known to be a livewire, jumping and fooling around all time and much of this energy could perhaps be attributed to his soaring fitness levels.

Ranveer had to undergo a hard-core workout routine to get the physicality in keeping with his roles in films like Padmaavat, Ram-leela and Bajirao Mastani. But, his dedication to staying fit is not just because a role demands it. In fact, for him, fitness is a way of life. In an interview with a leading daily, Ranveer Singh confided that his inspiration for fitness is Hrithik Roshan. He also suggested that people should always pick a role model as it gets easier to be keep motivated given how strenuous exercise can be. Ranveer also revealed that he prefers home-cooked meals. He had mentioned that junk food doesn’t go really well with his body. Well, everyone knows how important eating the right kind of food is when it comes to fitness. When a leading daily contacted Ranveer’s trainer, Mustafa Ahmed, who also guided him for getting his muscular look in Padmaavat, he said, “I create a diet for an individual based on their routine, but basically one day in every week I forcefully tell them to cheat. For Ranveer, the first thing I told him was to cut off any kind of sugar from his diet. That was our golden rule. Six months during Padmavati and even before, he was off sugar. I gave him two cheat meals in a week with the option of having these two meals anytime in the week. He would prefer having both of them in the same day so he could have a complete cheat day. During his cheat meals he could have sugar, junk food and almost anything he wanted. We focused a lot on movement patterns, mobility drills that involved strength training and conditioning workouts like high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with push-ups, burpees, power moves like deadlifts, squats. These were focused on improving Singh’s overall flexibility too. He trained twice a day for six days a week while training for Padmavati. In the mornings, we would usually do a cardio session followed by a mobility drill of 20-25 minutes. The morning workout would be only for 40-45 minutes as he’d be short on time. The evening session would be more extensive—an hour or hour and a half of weight training and heavy lifting. Once a week I would advise him to take the day off. If he really wanted to work out, I recommended a swim."

Katrina Kaif:

Not only she is beautiful but she also has an amazing body. Katrina Kaif is without a doubt one of the fittest actresses that we have in the industry.More recently, the super fit actor pulled off some heavy-duty action in Tiger Zinda Hai as well. Katrina’s personal trainer, Yasmin Karachiwala, revealed the details of Katrina’s workout plans in an interview with a leading daily. She said it consists of functional training, pilates and cardio, which are boosted by exercises using TRX, Bosu, Powerplate, Kettlebells, Medicine and Swiss Balls and the duration of the workouts rests squarely on the final result. It varies from 1 to 3 hours a day, seven days a week. Yasmin also revealed the diet plan which Katrina Kaif follows, “Food plays a big role in getting lean so focus on getting enough protein, fibre, complex carbs and healthy fats. I tweaked Katrina's food plan and we cut out foods that would add to her fat percentage and added foods that would give her energy and nourishment. Katrina’s meals revolve around oats for breakfast, a mid-morning snack of fruit, fish and veggies for lunch, a sandwich in the evening and soup and egg whites for dinner,” she said. Katrina, known to perform her own stunts, is basically ready to face challenges head on. Her Instagram boasts of a detailed and intense workout, which is bound to inspire her 9.6 million followers.

Alia Bhatt:

Alia keeps her fans updated on her day to day workouts that vary from free hand exercises to head stands. Her Instagram stories also make for a fun peek into her fit lifestyle.

In fact, before her debut, director Karan Johar had given her an ultimatum. According to which, she was supposed to lose 20 kilos in a span of six months if she wanted to feature in the film. Alia took this as a challenge. And right from that day to today, she made sure she ate right and exercised regularly. Although the process of weight loss was a “tedious task" for her, she can’t help feeling “amazed” at herself. As she said in an interview with a leading daily, “I’m happy for having gone through that (weight loss) process. I think being the right weight for your body type is key- it is not about how big your biceps are or whether you have washboard abs, it is just about being healthy and staying fit. Fit, after all, is the new sexy, isn't it?” Along with exercise and healthy food, Alia also practises yoga religiously. She mainly does yoga to improve her flexibility and core strength. Dance is another factor in Alia’s fitness as she is regularly brushing up her ballet and kathak skills.

Hrithik Roshan

Hrithik Roshan is not only known for his amazing acting skills but also his chiselled and well-toned body. His appearances in actioners like Bang Bang and the Krrish series have time and again proved that he has one of the best bodies in the business. According to sources, Hrtihik loves sweets so giving that up completely, was a big task for him. Reportedly, Hrithik recently hired Kris Gethin as his trainer and later Marika Johansson as his nutrition expert. Under Gethin’s guidance, Hrithik’s diet plan included 100 gms of meat along with some healthy sources of carbohydrates, such as a cup of pasta or rice, spinach, broccoli and sprouts. After sticking to this routine for 2-3 weeks, he switched to a normal diet plan having foods such as meatballs, pancakes, fish, 7 egg whites, yogurt and two slices of toast together with some supplements like glutamine, multivitamins, and protein powders. The actor also follows a strict workout regime, which he follows religiously under the supervision of his instructor. He has a specific workout planned for everyday of the week barring Wednesday since that is his rest day. Also, like a chameleon he changes his physique for every role. More recently, he’s said to have acquired a lean form for the biopic Super 30 on genius mathematician Anand Kumar. Greek God is the title he surely deserves.

Tiger Shroff:

Tiger Shroff, Bollywood’s very own Taekwondo black belt, has been inspiring fans with his martial arts and agility since day one. What’s more his daredevilry in the latest Baaghi 2 has mesmerised fans and created a riot at the box-office. A true fitness expert, he’s said to have even trained Aamir Khan during Dhoom 3. Ever since his debut in Heropanti, Tiger Shroff has wowed the audience with some terrific action sequences, amazing dancing skills and a super chiselled body. The uniqueness of Tiger’s body lies in the fact that not only does he have a great physique, he also hasn’t lost any of his flexibility while achieving such a great body. The ease with which he performs mid-air splits, punches, backflips and kicks is unbelievable. Tiger’s love for fitness began at a tender age of 15. At the time, he was embarrassed by his 5 feet 3-inch height and a skinny physique. He derived inspiration from reading many fitness magazines and joined a gym. Initially, he only performed workouts that were suited to his age. Today, Tiger makes sure that he doesn’t skip his workout for a single day. In an interview with a leading daily, he revealed, “Considering our hectic routines and demanding work pressure, it’s crucial for everyone to conduct regular workout sessions. I make sure that I work out for at least two hours every day. In addition to an attractive physique, it largely helps improve blood circulation in the body and boosts positivity, thereby making you feel healthy and happy.”

John Abraham

If Bollywood ever needs a Hulk, all they have to do is colour John Abraham green! John has singlehandedly brought a new dimension to muscularity in Bollywood. Earlier, it was just about having six-pack abs. But John came in and changed the game. His physique looks like one of a warrior. John also spoke about the importance of fitness in his personal blog which is titled “Fitness is the only religion I know”. He wrote, “I am pretty much an agnostic so my only religion is my body. I think there is nothing more important than health and workout and my aim is to live and die with a six-pack. Most of you will have heard my fitness mantra – healthy life is like a tripod - good food, good sleep and a good workout routine. To get the body you desire, 60 per cent depends on the diet and 40 per cent on the workout. However, most people, who are working all day outside, don’t get time to work out regularly. It’s difficult to visit the gym every day if you have to devote time to a family. And not everyone can afford the high membership fees of a gym.” We agree John. But you are inspiration enough to make us at least do our little bit towards fitness. The actor, who will play an army officer in his next – Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, will do full justice to his role, given his perfect physique.

Kareena Kapoor Khan

Kareena Kapoor Khan is an inspiration, period. From the cherubic newcomer in Refugee to size-zero in Tashan and Kambakht Ishq. Today she’s motivation for mothers, who are struggling to lose post-pregnancy weight. Kareena and dietician Rujuta Diwekar recently went live on Facebook, in which they were seen giving tips to women for losing weight. Post pregnancy, Rujuta advised Kareena not to rush rush with her weight loss but to go slow and steady. “Because we don’t want to go one step forward and two steps back, which is what happens when you do a crash or extreme diet,” she said. Kareena also gave her views regarding the same saying, “My aim is not just to lose the weight I had put on. I don’t want to do it overnight. It may take long, but I want to feel light, happy and energetic throughout the process. And that is important." Looking at her daily trips to the gym as her invincible glamour, Kareena’s is a story worth telling and believing.

Vidyut Jammwal:

Vidyut Jammwal is a true fitness freak, regularly updating his insane workouts and inspiring his million followers to “Train like Vidyut Jammwal”. Vidyut is a trained martial artist and it is apparent from many of the nail biting stunts he is seen pulling off in his films. He is often referred to as the “New Age Action Hero of Bollywood”. His movies like Force and Commando showcased combat based action. Given his expertise in various forms of martial arts including Kalaripayattu and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Vidyut has predominantly concentrated on training stunts and action in Bollywood. In an interview with a leading daily, in the interview, Vidyut revealed what steps he takes to get that well-toned body. He said that he follows a strict diet plan and also abstains himself from drinking and smoking. Since he is a supporter of PETA, he only sticks to a vegan diet, which according to him makes him feel healthier and mentally active. He does not prefer dieting. But he ensures that he intakes the right mix of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. He also said that he does not mind eating his food without any sugar or salt as being fit is more important than anything. To improve the metabolism of his body, Vidyut breaks his diet into six meals a day. “You don’t need to lift weights to be strong- people say ‘Oho maine 200 kilo utha liya, I’m such a strong guy.’ Strength is really misconstrued. Strength does not come from lifting - it comes from lifting yourself up and going to train. I’ve seen a lot of big guys who lift weights but in real life they have no strength. My definition of fitness has to do with the way you fee l- if you get angry soon, if you get tensed, depressed, and anxious, then you can have 18-pack abs, 160 likes on your Instagram post- but you’re not on the right path. Will it be easy? No... not at all. Will it be worth it? Absolutely,” he asserted. And we agree with him.

Yami Gautam:

Yami Gautam is one of the few lucky actresses, who made her debut with a hit film Vicky Donor, in which she was seen opposite Ayushmann Khurrana. Yami proved her mettle with some amazing acting and won many hearts right from her first film. In an interview with a leading daily, the actress gave some insights on her fitness regime. She believes in jogging on a daily basis. She recommends people take up jogging in the morning as the fresh air gives you a sense of calm and can get rid of the drowsiness. Yami also has taken up Hot Yoga, in which she performs asanas in extreme heat, which results in the body sweating out toxins and wastes. The pretty actress also has a fixed diet, which contains fresh fruits. Along with juices, Yami also likes to consume fruits and salad, which make her feel energised and also pampers her taste buds. If her Instagram account is anything to go by, she truly believes in the mantra “Work Hard Play Hard”.